A little bit of everything and a lot of nothing: images and stories to take us on an eclectic journey. . . . . . CLICK ON THE HEADING FOR THE "SOURCE" OF THE ARTICLE AND CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW FOR PHOTOGRAPHER. CLICK ON IMAGES FOR A LARGER VERSION.

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Highest air on a quarterpipe

SANTA MONICA, CA, USA --Freestyle motocross
star Ronnie
Renner jumped 59 feet, 2 inches on a quarterpipe on
the Santa Monica Pier. setting the world record for the Highest
air on a quarterpipe.

"I'm totally blown away that I went 59 feet,"
said Renner,
who was shooting for at least 50 feet. "I can't believe the
fan turnout. Everything was absolutely perfect. The fifth
and sixth ones, I was giving it everything I had."

Ronnie
Renner went just over 54 feet on his third jump, then
was just under 53 feet on his fourth attempt.After going just
more than 53 feet on his fifth jump, he decided to do a last
jump for the crowd.

"All or nothing," he said. "I knew what I needed
to do on the last one, all for the crowd. Way past my goal
of 50 feet. I'm just pumped on this. Never jump when they
say, 'One more time.' But I'm glad I did it — five feet higher
and I rode away to talk about it."

Friday, June 22, 2012

Launch of the Cartier Tank Watch Collection

On
Thursday 19th April, Cartier UK will celebrate the much anticipated
launch of the Tank Anglaise, part of the iconic Cartier Tank collection.
It will be held at the Kensington Palace Orangery, a venue that aptly
embodies the spirit of the Tank Anglaise – its British heritage, grandeur and elegance.

The
Tank watch, Cartier’s most iconic timepiece since its birth in 1917,
still remains one of its most prestigious and recognised pieces spanning
the last century. Following in the footsteps of the TankAméricaine (1980) and the Tank Française (1996), the Tank Anglaise was a logical progression – a watch to correspond to each of the three historical temples of the Maison.

From
the 1900s the Tank watch quickly became a popular accessory for those
in the public eye. With many famous wearers of the Tank including Andy
Warhol, Truman Capote and Marlene Dietrich, the TankAnglaise takes
its place in Cartier’s rich history.

The
Herkimer Arms, a two-story gunite structure, was built in 1911 as 8
individual box-like apartments. Relocated to its new site at 407 N.
Raymond Avenue, it will be converted into two units: one unit on each
floor and each nearly 3,000 square feet. Several important
architectural features remain including decorative terra cotta ceramic
tile roof vents and built-in bookcases with trundle beds.

This Day in Baseball

On this day -- June 17
1915 _ George "Zip" Zabel of the Chicago Cubs was called into the
game against the Brooklyn Dodgers with two outs in the first inning. He
won 4-3 in the 19th inning in the longest relief effort in the majors.

On this day, June 17, 1984, Chicago's Ryne Sandberg hit two late-inning home runs off St. Louis
Cardinals pitcher Bruce Sutter to tie the game twice as the Cubs went on
to win 12-11 in 11 innings. Sandberg led off the ninth inning with a
solo home run to tie the game 9-9 then hit a two-run, two-out homer in
the 10th to tie the game 11-11. What makes this day even more special is the fact that it involved two CUB GREATS/GREAT CUBS ==Cubs Fans everywhere will ALWAYS remember fondly the days when Ryne Sandberg and Bruce Sutter wore the Cubs uniform and performed their MAGIC.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

German Fernandez is arguably the best high school runner ever. He
demolished the CIF state meet record in cross country (14:24 for 5k),
won the USA Junior Cross Country championships (24:18 for 8k), ran the
best distance double in high school history at the California State meet (4:00.29/8:34.23 for 1600m/3200m), and then broke Jeff Nelson's 29-year old 2-mile record, running 8:34.40!

German is now a sophomore at Oklahoma
State University, where he has already set a junior indoor world record
for the mile (3:55.02), repeated as USA Junior Cross Country champion,
broke the junior American record for 3000m (7:47.97) and 5000m
(13:25.46), and won the NCAA 1500m title in 3:39.00!

Monday, June 11, 2012

The Switchblade drone is designed to fit into a soldier's rucksack. It
weighs less than 6 pounds and can take out a sniper on a rooftop,
without blasting the building to bits. The drone also enables soldiers
in the field to identify and destroy targets much more quickly by
eliminating the need to call in a strike from large drones that may be
hundreds of miles away.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

They
were a couple of auto mechanics with a pronounced Boston brogue and,
improbably, degrees from MIT. They hadn't a clue how to perform on
radio, much less public radio.
So Tom and Ray Magliozzi just
decided to have a good time. The result was "Car Talk," which shattered
the perception that public radio is inaccessible to the masses and
became National Public Radio's top-rated weekend show.

"Car Talk" made its debut in 1977 on WBUR in Boston after the
Magliozzis were approached to field calls seeking automotive advice on a
community radio station. The Magliozzis were such a hit they were
offered their own show. Ten years later, they were picked up for
syndication by NPR.
"Not many shows that are maintenance, how-to
shows can carry it off where people listen to be entertained. That makes
the show extremely potent," said Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers
Magazine, which tracks the talk radio industry.
Repackaging "Car
Talk" with material from the last 25 years, Harrison said, is a novelty
"but it's better than it going away completely. It's a very smart idea
to keep it going by reorganizing the material so that people can
continue to hear it."

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China was built over an extended period of time ranging between 5th century BC and the 16th
century AD. The wall stretches over 4,000 miles and was originally
built to protect the northern borders from attacks from Xiongnu.

The wall was built in sections, the most famous of which was built
around 206 BC by Qin Shi Huang, the first Chinese Emperor. Historic
documents and archaeological estimates predict that around 3 million
Chinese died during the construction of the entire wall. New sections of
the wall have recently been uncovered.

The cruise ship Costa Concordia partially sank on the night of 13 January 2012 after hitting a reef off the Italian coast and running aground at Isola del Giglio,Tuscany, requiring the evacuation of the 4,252 people on board. Thirty-two people are known to have died; 64 others were injured(at least two seriously) and two were still missing as of April 2012. Two passengers and a crewmember trapped inside were rescued in the days after the incident.

Captain Francesco Schettino had deviated from the ship's computer-programmed route to treat people on Isola del Giglio to the spectacle of a close sail-past or near-shore salute. The ship was on the first leg of a planned 6-port cruise from Civitavecchia
when she hit a reef off Isola del Giglio and started to take in water,
flooding the engine room and generators, causing the ship to drift for
more than an hour off the eastern shore of Isola del Giglio before
running aground and being evacuated.

After the event, Schettino was arrested on preliminary charges of
multiple manslaughter in connection with causing a shipwreck, failing to
assist 300 passengers, and failing to be the last to leave the wreck. He was subsequently also charged with failing to describe to maritime authorities the scope of the disaster
(for which seven other officers and managers of Costa Cruises are under
investigation) and with abandoning incapacitated passengers.

The Maya of Tikal considered Temple I the portal to the Underworld. Ha Sawa
Chaan K’awil brought Tikal back to its position of wealth and power. He
lived a long life (60 to 80 years), leading a series of successful wars
against his enemies and seeing Tikal return to its greatness under his
reign. Yikin, his son, sealed the tomb after his father's death, before
construction began on the temple. Being buried in this spot was a huge
break with tradition. Before this time, for more than 500 years, all the
rulers of Tikal were buried in the North Acropolis. His royal tomb
included several kilos of jade, shells and pottery.

Temple 1 was built around the year 700 A.D. between the Central and the
North Acropolises and faces west, toward the setting sun. It stands 45
meters high or 144.36 ft.

Ha Sawa Chaan K'awil was almost 6 ft. tall and his body was left under
Temple I after his death with a richly adorned burial, which was
excavated by archaeologist Aubrey Trik in 1962. The temple complex may
represent the Full Cycle of Life itself.

This image was taken looking east from Temple II, which you are allowed to climb up.

The smash hit Broadway musical, inspired by the true story of
the famed recording session that brought together rock ‘n’ roll icons
Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins for the
first and only time. On December 4, 1956, these four young musicians
were gathered together by Sam Phillips, the “Father of Rock ’n’ Roll” at
Sun Records in Memphis for what would be one of the greatest jam
sessions of all time. MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET brings that legendary night
to life with an irresistible tale of broken promises, secrets, betrayal
and celebrations featuring timeless hits including “Blue Suede Shoes,”
“Fever,” “That’s All Right,” “Sixteen Tons,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “I
Walk the Line,” “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “Who Do You Love?,”
“Matchbox,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Hound Dog” and more!
This thrilling musical brings you inside the recording studio
with four major talents who came together as a red-hot rock ‘n’ roll
band for one unforgettable night. Don’t miss your chance to be a fly on
the wall of fame... at MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET!

Friday, June 08, 2012

Enrique Bolanos, a Mexican boxer who three times fought for and lost the
world lightweight title in Los Angeles in the late 1940s, died Monday.
He was 87.

Bolanos died of heart failure at a convalescent facility near his Pasadena home, said his wife of 64 years, Ruby.

The boxer's soft-spoken demeanor
and ring skill made him the most popular Mexican fighter in Southern
California during the height of his career, which closed in 1952 with a
79-22-5 record and 44 knockouts.

Il Divo were assembled by high-trousered
impresario Simon Cowell, who sought to take advantage of an under-tapped
public market for operatic-pop.

Cowell gathered together a
multi-national selection of attractive young male singers -- Urs Bühler,
Sébastien Izambard, David Miller and Carlos Marín -- and by 2005 they
had released their debut album Il Divo.

Wednesday, June 06, 2012

North Face of Aiguille du Midi, Mont-Blanc range. Alps, France
Aiguille du Midi is the most easy gateway to the Mont-Blanc range for alpinists and tourists alike.
The cable car takes you in half an hour from a town at 1000m
to a remarkable peak at the heart of the range, at 3800m.
Or you can scale the 1000m-high North face...

LONDON -- Anders Behring Breivik, the right-wing Norwegian
fanatic who has admitted killing 77 people on the Norwegian island of
Utoya and in the Oslo city center last July, told a court Tuesday that
he had carried out "the most sophisticated and spectacular political
attack ... in Europe since World War II."
The confessed 33-year-old killer was captured on video raising his
right arm in a fascist-style clenched-fist salute as he entered the
court in Oslo. His testimony, which began with a statement in which
he sought to explain his actions, was not broadcast due to a judicial
decision to avoid giving a televised platform to his violent
anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant views. But his remarks were widely
reported.

Ignoring demands from presiding Judge Wenche Elizabeth Arntzen
to limit his statement, Breivik continued his justification for the
massacre, according to a BBC report. He claimed that he would have "done
it again" to defend Norway and that his actions were based on
"goodness, not evil."

Breivik compared the killings to the U.S. use of the atomic bomb on
Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945, according to an Associated Press report,
which quoted him as saying, "The attacks on July 22 were a preventive
strike. I acted in self-defense on behalf of my people, my city, my
country."

The second day of his trial was temporarily delayed as Thomas
Indreboe, a lay judge on the five-member panel, was dismissed for
Internet comments he made last summer calling for the death penalty for
Breivik. He was replaced by Judge Elisabeth Wisloeff.

Breivik and witnesses on his behalf will give evidence for the rest
of the week, but none of the testimony is scheduled to be broadcast.

Authorities charge that Breivik targeted an annual Labor Party
political camp on Utoya, shooting and killing 69 young Norwegians, and
blew up a government building in central Oslo, leaving eight people
dead.

His trial is expected to last 10 weeks and he faces a sentence of 21
years in prison, which can be extended if he is considered a danger to
society.

Monday, June 04, 2012

Sometimes we have to be reminded of how BIG our little blue planet really is. Check out the stark, beautiful image above of the Hang Son Doong Cave which can be found in Vietnam. Believed to be the largest cave in the world; it was only discovered last year.

In Russia, people play a game where they reenact and photograph very
specific scenarios and enter the photos in a contest for money and
prizes. It's like a scavenger hunt, but instead of finding objects you
have to dramatize outlandish photos.

About Me

Thanks for visiting my blog. I hope you will find it interesting. "This and That and More of the Same" strives to show images that are striking along with intriguing human interest stories. The "Memories" blog displays images of family while "Why Ask For the Moon When We Have the Stars" is devoted to friends.